Postal Address
APS Secretariat
c/- DC Conference &
Association Management
PO Box 637
North Sydney NSW 2059
Australia
Head Office
Secretariat Office
c/- DC Conference &
Association Management
Suite 103, Level 1
3 West Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
Australia
Pain is best understood and managed through a biopsychosocial framework, and an assessment process identifying these pain contributors is essential.
The literature into the treatment and management of pain conditions consistently demonstrates that approaches addressing biopsychosocial contributors are more likely to be successful. In some circumstances, a sole clinician may be able to address the breadth of pain contributors. However, interdisciplinary care provided by a multidisciplinary team is the gold standard for the management of pain, particularly in persistent pain, and is always recommended. The literature also shows that treatment approaches focusing only on reducing pain intensity are less likely to be successful than those also addressing pain-related distress and disability. A multidisciplinary team approach is more likely to deliver outcomes sought by the person experiencing pain.
Interdisciplinary care is more than simply having multiple professions. Rather, it is the integration of knowledge, collaboration and shared expectations and goals by the team that defines its co-ordinated nature. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines interdisciplinary care as “a biopsychosocial approach to assessment and management that involves a team of health care professionals working closely together within a non-hierarchical framework”.
The Australian Pain Society recommends that all pain conditions be managed with treatment approaches aspiring to the provision of interdisciplinary care.
Approved by the Australian Pain Society Board, August 2017
Reviewed and approved by the Australian Pain Society Board, August 2024
APS Guiding Principles for Pain Management Download
Approved Date | Review Date | Position Paper / Guideline | Document |
March, 2024 | March, 2027 | The role of the Psychologist in the management of pain, 4th edition | Download |
March, 2024 | March, 2027 | The role of the Psychologist in the management of pain - Executive Summary | Download |
March, 2024 | April, 2027 | APS position statement for pain management in aged care | Download |
Note: Where existing Position Papers are deemed as useful references by the APS Board, they will be referenced below rather than unnecessarily duplicating effort.
Approved Date | Review Date | Organisation | Position Paper / Guideline | Document |
May, 2021 | Australian Government Departmentof Health funded development by Painaustralia | National Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management | Weblink | |
March, 2021 | Choosing Wisely/Faculty of Pain Medicine ANZCA | Recommendation 6: Do not prescribe currently available medicinal cannabis products to treat chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) unless part of a registered trial | Weblink | |
March, 2021 | International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) | IASP Presidential Task Force on Cannabis and Cannabiniod Analgesia | Weblink | |
July, 2020 | Faculty of Pain Medicine ANZCA | PS11(PM): Procedures in Pain Medicine Clinical Care Standard | Weblink | |
May, 2019 | Palliative Care Australia |
Sustainable access to prescription opioids for use in palliative care |
||
February, 2019 | Faculty of Pain Medicine ANZCA | PM10: Statement on "Medicinal Cannabis" with particular reference to its use in the management of patients with chronic non-cancer pain | ||
February, 2018 | International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) | IASP Statement on Opioids | ||
December, 2017 | Australian Government, Department of Health, Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) | Guidance for the use of medicinal cannabis in the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain in Australia | ||
October, 2017 | Royal Austalian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) | Prescribing drugs of dependence in general practice Part C1: Opioids Part C2: The role of opioids in pain management |
Weblink | |
October, 2016 | Royal Austalian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) | Medicinal use of cannabis products | Weblink | |
June, 2015 | Faculty of Pain Medicine ANZCA |
PM01: Recommendations regarding the use of Opioid Analgesics in patints with chronic Non-Cancer Pain PM01 (Appendix 1) Quick reference recommendations for conduct of an Opioid Trial in Chronic Non-Cancer Pain PM01 (Appendix 2) Opioid Dose Equivalence - Calculation of Oral Morphine Equivalent Daily Dose (oMEDD) FPM/ANZCA Free Opioid Calculator App |
|
|
April, 2015 | NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation |
Pain Management Programs - Which Patient for Which Program? |
||
February, 2015 | February, 2018 | International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Neuropathic Pain Special Interest Group (NeuPSIG) | Pharmocotherapy for neuropathic pain in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis | |
December, 2013 | Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) | SIGN 136: Management of chronic pain, A national clinical guideline | Download | |
November, 2013 | October, 2018 | British Pain Society | Guidelines for Pain Management Programmes for adults | Weblink |